Love Thy Neighbours?!?

Over the years, we have had homes in different cities and thus have had the ‘privilege’ to know different neighbours too. There have been some very good neighbours and then there have been these too…

Do You Have This…?? This is their first question as soon as you open the door. So, being a good person that you are, you answer in an affirmative and share the item in question with a smile. These items range from sugar, curd, red chilli powder, green coriander and even the thermometer. You have no problem in giving them whatever they want, after all, they are just silly, small things. But you have issues, if they do not return back the ‘Tupperware’ container (despite repeated reminders), in which you had given the curd!! And after nearly a month, the thermometer has still not found it’s place in the drawer of your home…

Updated to Add : A few minutes ago, came to know that the “thermometer” neighbors are moving from their current flat… met her and asked about the new place etc and casually asked about our temperature measuring device… a nonchalant reply, “Now, where do I search for it in this mess?” surely ensured that I needed a device to note the temperature of my boiling blood! My God, such casualness!!

The Param Bhakts : Have seen and met many religious people over the years, but no one matches the fervour and devotion in God as this family. This family does not believe in having a silent one-to-one conversation with the Almighty. Their connection with the God is complete only with chanting of mantras and bhajans and the artis ON TOP OF THEIR VOICES!! And this DAILY ritual starts at 6 am and continues till 9 am and then starts again in the evening from 7 to 8 pm. And during the festive days like the 9 days of Navratri or the Janmashtami or the Poornima or the Ekadashi or the Chauth…. the ‘celebrations’ are a whole day process!! No marks for guessing about our plight as they have a flat bang opposite ours.

The Eternal Cribbers : If a guest’s car is parked even for a few minutes in their parking, you get a call to ‘remove’ it ASAP, even if their car is away and would be coming back only late in the evening. You keep the blanket out on the balcony railing and their balcony gets 10% less of sunlight because of the hanging blanket, they have to comment about it. The children while passing their door in the corridor, make noise, and their noise decibel can be heard two floors above and two floors down. Everything about you irritates them.

The Home is Not Enough : Yeah for them the their 3-4 BHK is not enough. Shoe racks, scattered shoes, dustbins, big pile of old newspapers, bottles and containers, kid’s bicycle… are seen lying outside the door, in the corridors. While the potted plants, terracotta artefacts, wall hangings etc outside the door are so very welcoming and beautiful, but these the shoes etc… they sure are an eyesore! Our next door neighbours have not one but TWO shoe racks outside the main door!

The compare.coms : “Uski sari meri sari se safed kaise?” is their mantra in life. So it’s always Landlord vis-a-vis Tenants, 32” LCD vs 40”Plasma TV, Canon vs Nikon, SX4 vs City, This School vs That School, Home Tutions vs Coaching Classes, Holidays in Europe vs holidays in small hill Indian stations… the list is endless. Such mind-sets still exist!!??

The Enquiry Desk : No, you don’t go to them to ask anything but since they NEED to know all the answers, need to know all the things that are happening in your life, where you went, what you bought, who is that…so, they actually have all the info on you!! Once, a nosy parker even told me that our friend M had not visited us for 5 weeks!!

The Invisibles : The exact opposites of The Enquiry Desk. You never see them around and never hear from them either and just in case, by chance you meet them in the lift and smile, they look the other way. Yeah, they just do that!!

Love them?! Hate them?! But you sure can’t ignore them!! Coz, they sure are around you, much more than the relatives and friends!! How have been your neighbours!!?? Love them??

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39 comments

Param Bhakts??? Are you serious? You have them as neighbors? Shouldn’t they be living in temples in stead? I mean honestly, I’ve heard bells & aartis & conchs going off every morning & evening at neighborhood temples, but NEVER at anyone’s home! At least not on a daily basis! Ok maybe I’ve heard it daily, but definitely not for sooooo long! 3 HOURS in the morning! Heck! I finish my daily Puja in like 3 minutes! What could anyone possibly do for 3 hours? Amazing!

Dead serious!! This is their ritual DAILY… bathe the gods, dress them up, make food and then the bhog (offerings) to the god and much more…. and all this happens with the chanting of mantras, bhajans with ghanti (bells) bajana and finally arti!! And you know, their 3 BHK home is nearly furniture-less, so the voice resonates all the more!! 😐

I envy the neighbours telling you living here in uk not knowing any one of them or seeing how people are not interested I would love to swap spaces and get to know the neighbours that way 🙂 he he he he he

Ha..Great post Shilpa. I’ve seen all these kind of neighbors..And there are window peepers from ground floor – who peep out of their window every now and then, even when they hear a pin dropped on the ground, when you come in, go out! Gosh!

Hahaha I have experienced most of them. I am very much similar to Invisibles Shilpa. I dont bother about what goes on around and remain within the walls. I dont turn away when I see a neighbor though! I might keep my face straight since I wouldnt even if they are my neighbors 😛

I was fortunate not to have spent the vast part of my life so far in apartments or flats. They were independent houses with enough seclusion. But I do understand the points you mentioned. It is in fact a different social living in the west where houses are seldom separated by walls, but only by hedges and picket fences. Wish a good day to your neighbour when you see her/him is all that is done and nothing more.

Very irritating these 2 are!! But the “Do you have this” and don’t return back things are bad too… I am enraged at the loss of our thermometer. It’s a low value item I know, but the casualness with she answered and no remorse whatsoever is so very disgusting!! :((

okay and I have faced these bhakt types, some have the audacity to ask, ‘pooja mein dikhayi nahin diye?” Pooja na ho gayi roll call ho gaya. Even though we live in villas, we still find some people conveniently spilling belongings on to the road etc. Then there are these nosy parkers, who peep through the curtain everytime someone comes and goes. I had to keep my curtains drawn during the day to avoid one such lady. Luckily, they moved out :). The compares and enquiry desks are there too :). Certainly don’t love these types. Definitely like the ones similar to me. Nice post!

What about the neigh borers having pet dogs barking only when you are fast a sleep,opening windows or doors with bang when you are watching a serious discussion on TV,those passing on the road garbage in front of your house in the morning or if nothing else, honking in front of their own house for some one to come out to open the gate!!!

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Hey! I am Shilpa Garg.
Welcome to A Rose is a Rose is a Rose! I’m glad you’re here. Here you will find thoughts, views, opinions and observations of things around me, as they are, not as they should be. Read More…